I have been living in Portugal for over 3 years, and I finally made a trip I was waiting for so long. Before I visited Aveiro, I kind of had an idea what it was like from many Instagram photos, but once I arrived I was totally blown away by the unique beauty of this small and calm city.
The city is surrounded by different canals just like Venice, and people actually call it «The Venice of Portugal», I personally don’t like to compare places, instead, I enjoy the beauty of each one of them, I appreciate what each one offers, and in this case Aveiro showed me the best of it by taking a boat tour in a «Moliceiro» (colorful boats, designs with typical Portuguese phrases)
This boats truly take you to the Aveiro’s heart and show you the most classical and old Portuguese houses.
How to get there?
From Porto: You can take either a bus or trains. For me, the train is better since is faster! just an hour away and it costs €3.45 one way, It will leave you just 5 minutes walk from the city center. Train schedules
From Lisbon: The trains are more expensive, around €20 one way. The best option if you go with friends is to rent a car or use Bla bla car!
Another helpful website you can check is Go Euro for more transportation options.
For buses check here!
Moliceiro (boat) Prices:
Tour last 45 minutes, and you don’t necessarily need to book it, but in case you want to, you can call or message this number: +351 914 170 937
Adults: €8
Children: €4
Some of them will allow dogs on the boats. 😀
What to eat?
You’ll have plenty of options to have lunch, coffee or drinks. In my case I visited in January, everything was open. I was very lucky with the weather since it was sunny and not cold at all.
You can’t definitely miss «Tripas a modo de Aveiro» (Aveiro guts) they are not necessarily guts, as I thought at first, they are crepes made with a different flour which makes them thicker, with sweet or salty flavors.
They look just like that
And the most typical and traditional sweet of Aveiro «Ovos-moles»
About 5 minutes drive from the center of Aveiro, you can visit Praia Nova, there you can continue to appreciate the beauty of Aveiro in a more classic-modern way.
The colorful houses are the main attraction in this area, the majority have the same shape and are two colors painted with vertical and horizontal stripes.
On the coast you will have access to a very large ciclo path enjoying the beautiful view of the ría.
(Check out my happy dogs running and enjoying Aveiro too!)
I also visited the highest lighthouse in Portugal, which is located opposite a huge beautiful beach where my dog can run and have so much fun!
I visited the city in a day and I think it’s good enough to visit the main attractions.
Hope you all enjoy it!